Pressing Questions - 6/18

NBA Finals, Dalembert traded, the #2 pick...you guys know the drill. There's plenty to talk about, have at it in the comments.

Here are some numbers to chew on:

Elton Brand - 14.7% defensive rebounding rate

Thaddeus Young - 12.3% defensive rebounding rate

Jason Smith - 14.7% defensive rebounding rate

Marreese Speights - 19.7% defensive rebounding rate

Spencer Hawes - 17.7% defensive rebounding rate

Among PFs in the league who averaged more than 20 minutes/game last season:

Brad ranks 6th-worst in the league in defensive rebounding rate (Brand played a decent chunk of his minutes at the five, which makes this number ranking deceptively good).

Thad ranks 3rd-worst in the league in defensive rebounding rate (Thad played the three, so this number is deceptively bad, but not that deceptively)

Smith ties Brand for sixth-worst (and he played center as well)

Speights is the best of the bunch at 20th-worst (again, spent a lot of time at center).

Among centers in the league who averaged more than 20 minutes/game last season:

Brand would be 2nd-worst, not even close, but he did play the majority of his minutes at the four. Still, he's probably our starting center right now so it's meaningful. (Andrea Bargnani averaged 16.0%, as a point of comparison)

Smith, same as Brand.

Speights doesn't fare as well here, 14th from the bottom.

Hawes ranks 9th-worst.

In one fell swoop, I'd say the Sixers have become odds-on favorites to be the worst defensive rebounding team in the league. Not to mention the fact that their front court doesn't have the ability to (a) defend their own men or (b) protect the rim when drivers penetrate. (by the way, Dalembert's rate was 30.7%, so essentially he grabbed 3.7% more defensive rebounds than Brand and Thad combined).

I'll be back in action on Sunday, use this post for any thoughts until then.